My work
involves investigating why some children thrive and why some don’t, however, more
importantly how to best ensure that every child has an opportunity to thrive. This
is how I described my work to my five-year old nephew when he asked what my job
is really all about. The description is of course a colossal simplification, however
the main gist, and my passion, remains; to develop, investigate, and implement
good (that is, efficient, feasible, and sustainable) approaches to reducing
social inequality in health and thereby provide more children (and subsequently
adults) with opportunities to thrive and fulfil their potential. In this
endeavor, I have had a special focus on, and am also researching currently,
nature and green space which provide a core component of the human exposome and
is increasingly acknowledged as a critical social determinant of health and
wellbeing.
I am a
sociologist, a graduate from the University of Copenhagen, and have been
working with health promotion and prevention research since 2012 when I was
employed as a student assistant at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen. Presently,
I am involved with an evidence mapping of interventions and research oriented
towards primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and treatment of pediatric
obesity. Furthermore, I am a joint PhD Fellow at Deakin University, Melbourne,
Australia, and the University of Copenhagen. As part of my PhD, I am
investigating how green space, as a modifiable and relatively cheap population
approach to health promotion and prevention, associates with preschool-aged
children’s socioemotional development.
Selected
publications
Bentsen,
P., Nielsen, G., Bølling, M., Mygind, L., Stevenson, M.P., Mygind, E. (2019)
Greening Education in Physical Activity in Natural Settings: Green and Blue
Exercise, ed. Donnelly & MacIntyre, doi: 10.4324/9781315180144-14
Mygind, L.,
Kjeldsted, E., Hartmeyer, R., Mygind, E., Stevenson, M.P., Quintana, D.S.,
Bentsen, P. (2019) Effects of public green space on psychophysiological stress
markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.
Environment and Behavior, doi: 10.1177/0013916519873376
Mygind, L.,
Kjeldsted, E., Hartmeyer, R., Bølling, M., Mygind, E., Bentsen, P. (2019)
Mental, physical and social health benefits of immersive nature-experience for
children and adolescents: A systematic review and quality assessment of the evidence.
Health and Place, 58: 102136. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.014